The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Osteospermum plant, botanically known as Osteospermum ecklonis, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Sunny Serena’.
The new Osteospermum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Odense, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact Osteospermums with continuous flowering, good postproduction longevity and attractive flower coloration.
The new Osteospermum originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in May, 1998 of the Osteospermum ecklonis cultivar Sunny Alex, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with the Osteospermum ecklonis cultivar Sunny Martha, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,978, as the male, or pollen, parent.
The new Osteospermum was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the resulting progeny from the cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Odense, Denmark in June, 2000.
Asexual reproduction of the new Osteospermum by terminal vegetative cuttings was first conducted in Odense, Denmark. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Osteospermum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.